Airline rated one of world's safest
Malaysia Airlines had been rated as one of the world's safest airlines, until Saturday's disaster.
The airline's last fatal accident was in 1995 when a regional 46-seat Fokker 50 turboprop crashed on landing because of pilot error, killing 34 people.
Its only fatal jet accident happened in 1977 when a Boeing 737-200 was taken over by hijackers and crashed, killing 100.
The airline enjoys an excellent reputation for its pilot skills and training and has been a leader in developing a teamwork approach in the cockpit.
Malaysia Airlines traces its origins to Malayan Airways, which was formed in 1947.
In 1966, it became Malaysia Singapore Airlines and expanded rapidly.
But the differing needs of the two shareholders, Singapore and Malaysia, forced a split.
Singapore wanted to expand to the world and Malaysia wanted to concentrate on regional routes.
Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airline System emerged from the split.
In the 1980s, MAS expanded rapidly on the back of an economic boom and by the end of the decade was flying to 47 international destinations.
The late 1990s and the past decade have challenged the airline, with high fuel prices sending it into the red. Malaysia Airlines joined the oneworld alliance, of which Qantas is a member, last year.
The airline is government-owned and flies to 61 destinations with a fleet of 105 aircraft.
Malaysia Airlines has 15 300-seat Boeing 777-200ERs. The first was delivered in April 1997.
The Boeing 777 involved in Saturday's accident, registered 9M-MRO, was delivered in 2004 and had completed 18,893 flying hours and 2973 flight cycles, according to Malaysia Airlines.
Geoffrey Thomas
